Of Brothers and Bronchitis
by Drunken Boxer
Summary: AU Human turtles. Leo seems to have caught Mikey's cold, but never fear! Donnie, Raph, and Mikey are here to help their sick brother, though he might be better off on his own... Humorous antics, odd situations, and fluff abound!


**Disclaimer**: I (still) do not own the Ninja Turtles.

A quasi-sequel to my story Recovery, though it can be read alone if you so desire. Still humanized turtles in my non-developed world. I'm not completely happy with this piece and it took me ages to write because I couldn't figure out how to move the story forward, but I'd love to hear what you think!

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><p>"Morning Leo!" A cheerful voice gave a split-second warning before a small body landed on the foot of Leonardo's bed with a slight bounce.<p>

Leonardo groaned and rolled over to face his younger brother. It had been about a week since Michelangelo's most recent cold, and he had recovered nicely. "Morning honey," Leo mumbled sleepily. Mikey frowned briefly at the endearing term before his usual smile slid into place. Mikey knew Leo wasn't being condescending; Leo simply babied him because he cared.

_Besides_, Mikey thought, _it's not like he does it at school or in front of my friends. _

"What's for breakfast?" Michelangelo asked, bouncing gently on the bed.

Leonardo grunted quietly, "Do me a favor, Mike, and stop bouncing. I've got a bit of a headache and the movement isn't helping." Michelangelo stopped immediately, concern filling his big blue eyes. "I'm okay," Leo was quick to assure him. "Why don't you start pancake batter with Don or Raph?"

Mikey nodded and leapt lightly off the bed, bare feet landing soundlessly on the hardwood floor as he scrambled out into the kitchen to see which of his twin brothers he could manipulate into cooking his breakfast.

As soon as Mikey left their room, Leonardo flopped bonelessly back onto his bed. In truth, his head was killing him, but he hadn't wanted to worry his baby brother. He ran a hand through messy, dark brown hair and gave a few hoarse coughs. Leo had noticed his voice giving out on him during his Friday lessons, but hoped it was just because of all the extra classes he had to teach that week. No such luck, apparently.

After the coughing subsided, Leo lay in bed, panting a bit as he tried to catch his breath. _Must've caught Mikey's cold,_ he thought unhappily. Of course, the cold had settled in Leo's lungs, as his illnesses tended to. Mikey could, and most likely would, catch everything under the sun while Leo was prone to bouts of bronchitis. That left Donnie as their resident medic, and Raph? Raph hated playing nursemaid, but it seemed to be his role. Leo smirked as he thought Raph having to spoon feed him soup. His last semi-cognizant thought before drifting back to sleep was, _Raph would probably sooner wear hedgehogs as slippers than feed me soup. _

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Raphael and Michelangelo were busy mixing a bowl of pancake batter. Or rather, Mikey, the little chef, was mixing and Raph was idly paging through a magazine, bare chested of course.

"You know," Mikey started, "I asked you to _help _me, not just sit there waiting for me to serve you."

Raphael chuckled without even looking up, "Yeah, but we both know you're better at cookin'."

"You could at least get me eggs," Mikey pouted, turning wide eyes at his older brother. The effect was somewhat lost, as the puppy dog eyes were nullified by Mikey's blond hair sticking up in every direction.

Raphael smirked, rubbing his own light brown hair down to make sure it didn't look like Mikey's. He handed Michelangelo the carton of eggs and also pulled out the orange juice and milk from the fridge.

"Than-" Mikey's reply was cut off by Donnie's entrance. Said twin stumbled into the kitchen blearily, careening slightly off the counter while searching blindly for his mug of liquid life.

Michelangelo and Raphael exchanged grins; Donnie's morning entrances never got old. Donatello had finally located his customary cup and brought it to his lips, intent on taking a sip. Michelanglo giggled and Raphael smirked as they observed Donatello without his knowledge. A befuddled frown appeared on his face. He cracked open a hazel eye to glare at his cup as if daring it to refuse to yield his precious life sustenance. Donnie slowly, sleepily turned the cup over above the counter. "Why isn't there coffee in my cup?" he questioned groggily, eyes returning to their fully shut position.

"Because _Leo's_the one who fills your cup," Raphael informed his twin.

"Oh." Donatello turned to Mikey with his eyes still shut and asked, "Why isn't there coffee in my cup?"

"I'm Michelangelo," Mikey said simply, stirring his bowl.

"Right." Donnie turned to empty space, "Why isn't there coffee in my cup?"

As expected, no answer.

As Donatello silently contemplated the lack of response, Raphael snagged the mug from his hand and filled it with coffee from the pot that started automatically each morning. Raph pushed the cup back into his twin's grasp and laughed as Donnie instantly became more alert. Donnie slid onto one of the stools around the counter and sipped greedily at his coffee.

"So," he said as his intelligence returned to him with the caffeine intake, "where's Leo? Why isn't he here pouring coffee in my cup? And what's for breakfast?"

"Pancakes," Mikey answered as he poured the first one into the pan. "And Leo's still in bed."

"Still?" Donnie asked. "It's almost ten."

"Probably a long week of teachin'," Raphael said, pouring a glass of juice for himself and milk for Mikey. "Those kids can be brutal."

"I'll go get him up," Donatello said, getting smoothly to his feet after draining the rest of his coffee. "You know he doesn't like wasting the day sleeping."

"Better you than me," his brothers chorused after him.

"Leo?" Donnie knocked quietly on the open door to Leo's and Mikey's room. "Breakfast is almost ready."

Harsh coughs were the only response.

Donnie groaned. Another brother down for the count.

"Hey bro," Donnie said quietly as he padded into the room. "How you feeling?"

"Fine," was the automatic reply.

Donatello rolled his eyes. "Clearly you're not." He sat down on the bed and pulled Leo's arms off his face, where the eldest had attempted to hide from the winter sunlight streaming in through the window.

"Don, I'm fi-" Deep coughs cut off Leonardo's words. Donatello quickly helped his convulsing brother sit up in bed. "Thanks," Leo gasped breathlessly when he was able.

Donnie just nodded as he felt his brother's forehead. "You're running a slight temperature," he informed the eldest. "And I bet you've got a killer headache."

"Your bet would be correct," Leo said softly, massaging his temples with his eyes screwed shut.

"How's your chest feel?"

"A little sore," Leo admitted. "Can't take deep breaths."

Donnie hummed in acknowledgement. "I'll get you something for the headache, and Mikey or Raph will probably want to bring you something to eat if you feel up to it."

As if on cue, Leo's stomach gave a small rumble. He laughed lightly. "Even when my lungs don't work my stomach does."

"Good," Donatello smiled. "Means you're not too ill." He turned to leave, but called back over his shoulder, "Do you still have your inhaler or do we need to pick up another one?"

"Still got it," Leo replied. With his proclivity to bronchitis, the brothers found it easier for him to always have an inhaler with fresh medicine available, something Leonardo was very grateful for.

"Leo's sick," Don announced as he sat down to a stack of Mikey's chocolate chip pancakes and dug in enthusiastically.

Raphael looked up from his own partially demolished plate, "Sick or sick sick?"

Donatello tilted his head to the side, mulling the thought over in his head. "That really doesn't make sense, Raph."

"Just answer the question, Genius."

"Bronchitis."

Don's two other brothers winced at the news. "Did...did I give it to him?" Mikey asked, a bit fearfully.

The twins were quick to reassure their brother. "Leo will be fine," Donnie said soothingly. "In fact, he's well enough to be hungry, so how 'bout after you finish eating you make him a couple pancakes?"

"Yeah," Raphael agreed. "Leo's tough, he'll be up and about in no time. Besides, it's nothing we haven't dealt with before."

"Yeah, okay," Mikey said quietly, not looking entirely convinced.

About fifteen minutes later, a small figure cautiously entered the bedroom of his ill older brother. "Leo?" Michelangelo called softly. "I brought you some pancakes."

Leonardo coughed in response, but sat up further and tried to focus on his little brother. Mikey padded over to his bed and set down the tray that held a plate of hot pancakes, a cup of tea, and two aspirin.

"Thanks baby," Leo said, shaking his head in an attempt to clear the fogginess. "Where are Raphael and Donatello?"

"Donnie's programming something and Raph's working out. Did I get you sick?" Mikey asked as he curled himself against Leo's side, mindful of the food-bearing tray on the bed.

Leo made a small dismissive sound while sipping his tea. He gave Mikey a quick squeeze, "Nah, those kids I teach were running me ragged this week, plus it was cold and wet outside. That usually does me in." He deftly changed the topic, "What are your plans for today?"

"Donnie said he would help me with my biology homework, and then I don't know," Michelangelo replied. "I can getcha stuff when you need it," he offered hopefully.

Leonardo smiled. "Thanks Mikey. I appreciate it." He took a bite of pancake and promptly choked, but managed to pass it off as a coughing fit.

"What kind of pancakes are these?" he asked as soon as he could speak.

"M&M and gummy bear," said Mikey proudly. "I thought of it myself! D'you like 'em?"

Leo cleared his throat and hurriedly took another sip of tea. "They're great, Mike." And they were really okay, as long as he expected the almost overwhelming sweetness with every bite. He was, however, quickly running low on the tea he was using to wash down the tremendous amounts of sugar. "Would you mind refilling my tea cup, please? And maybe bringing some juice as well?"

"Sure thing!" Mikey said cheerfully as he bounded off the bed.

Once his younger brother was out the door, Leo promptly removed all the hidden sweets from the pancakes and stuffed them in a napkin, which he then tossed into the garbage can under his desk.

Michelanglo returned, carefully carrying a cup in each hand and set them down on the tray. "Thanks bro," Leo said, gratefully sipping the tea.

"No problem!" Mikey returned, happy to be of service. He retrieved his Game Dude off the explosion that was his desk and settled at the foot of Leo's bed, madly tapping away while the oldest Hamato leisurely ate.

After the food was gone, Mikey took the tray back to the kitchen and left Leo to slump back against his pillows once more. Donnie was still working away on his laptop, but Raphael was standing by the fridge drinking deeply from a bottle of water. Though an inch shorter than his twin, Raph more than made up for it with his sheer muscle mass, which he maintained with not only the workouts all the boys did together, but also with his own intense weightlifting regime.

"How's Leo?" he asked as Mikey started washing up.

Michelangelo shrugged. "Seems okay to me. He picked all the gummy bears out of his pancakes though," he said remorsefully. "He thought I wouldn't notice. What a waste of perfectly good candy. If he didn't want them, _I _would have eaten them. Anyways, I don't think Leo's had to use his inhaler yet, so that's good."

Deep coughs from Leo's and Mikey's room interrupted their conversation. Donatello's head shot up from his work, eyes narrowing.

"Spoke too soon," Raphael said grimly as the three brothers hurried into the room.

Leo was sitting up in bed, coughing rather violently. Each time he tried to draw a breath, it would catch in his throat and the coughing only got worse. He looked at his younger brothers through watering eyes when they entered. "Donnie..." he gasped out. "Inhaler...can't..."

Donatello reacted immediately and snatched the yellow device from its home on Leo's desk. He sat down next to his wheezing brother, smoothly sliding the inhaler into his mouth. "Relax," he said gently. "I'm going to medicate you on three, okay? One, two, three." He pushed the button, dispensing the medicine into Leo's struggling lungs. Leonardo's frame relaxed marginally as the coughing eased a bit. "Once more," Donnie said, depressing the medicine again. "Now breathe with me," he coached. "The coughing will stop, it always has before."

Michelangelo was standing as close to Raphael as possible without actually touching his brother. He had seen Leonardo come down with bronchitis a number of times in the past, but the coughing fits never ceased to frighten him. Raph, having just noticed his worried little brother, drew Mikey closer to himself. Mikey didn't protest, despite Raph being slightly sweaty from his recent workout; he continued to watch Leo and Donnie with wide eyes.

Leonardo's coughing fit had finally ceased and he leaned back against his pillows breathlessly. His brown eyes were streaming from the exertion, but he no longer had to fight tooth and nail to draw air. He leaned into Donnie, who gently wrapped his arms around his elder brother. Donnie knew that Leo, like Mikey, regressed a few years when he was feeling unwell, and though he never explicitly asked for comfort, his brothers were more than happy to provide it.

A long-fingered hand made its way to Leo's sweaty forehead. "Still warm," Donnie murmured. "Did you manage to get the aspirin down?"

"Yeah," Leo replied, chest whistling as he exhaled.

Donnie turned to his other brothers, "Mike, can you get me a wet washcloth from the bathroom, please?"

"Sure," Michelangelo said, peeling himself away from Raphael where the dried sweat had bonded them together. He pulled a silly grimace, "Maybe I'll take a shower, too..."

"Oh no you won't!" Raphael retorted. "I'm showering first!"

Mikey just giggled before darting out of the room, Raph quickly following. Leo tilted his head so he could look Donnie in the eye. "Should we remind them we have two bathrooms?"

Don shook his head. "Nah, let them burn off some energy. Mikey at least consumed far beyond his recommended daily intake of sugar this morning. Plus, you being ill makes him anxious, so it's probably better to just let him run it off."

"All right, as long as they don't-" Leo was cut off by the sound of something breakable hitting the floor with great force. He sighed resignedly.

"Raph's fault!" Mikey's voice drifted into the bedroom from somewhere near the kitchen.

Eyebrows raised, Donnie glanced over at Leo. "I don't even know how they got there. I asked him for a washcloth."

"They're easily distracted?" Leo hazarded.

"The bathroom is across the hall! It's only a meter from the door!"

"Point," Leo conceded with a cough. He moaned softly, nuzzling a little deeper into Donnie.

Donnie frowned; Leo didn't usually voice his discomfort. "Are you feeling worse?" he asked, concern coloring his tone.

"No," Leo said tiredly. "Just a little tight."

Before Donnie could formulate a rebuttal, Mikey skidded back into the room, dripping washcloth in hand. He made to hand it to Donnie, but Raph snatched it away and promptly wrung the excess water onto Mikey's head. Mikey spluttered indignantly, shaking his head and flinging tiny drops of water all over.

"Helpful," Donnie commented dryly, taking the washcloth from Raph and folding it neatly before arranging it on Leo's overly warm forehead. The ill brother gave a small noise of relief as his headache immediately dulled. Donatello smiled slightly. "Better?"

"Much," Leo answered, eyes sliding shut.

Donatello glanced up to see Michelangelo intently styling his wet hair into a Mohawk; he was largely unsuccessful, in Donnie's opinion, but that is neither here nor there.

"Mikey, why don't you..." Donnie paused as he tried to think of a tactful way of getting his point across. Shaking his head in defeat, he continued, "Go elsewhere so Leo can rest. You're nothing but a ball of vibrating energy."

"Nooo," Mikey whined at once. "I want to stay and help."

Raph chuckled, "Good. Then I'm going to take a shower first." He meandered out of Leo's and Mikey's room, but not before cheerfully flattening the attempted Mohawk on Mikey's head.

"Raph!"

"Mikey!" Donnie hissed, indicating a dozing Leo with his head. Mikey looked down, suitably abashed. Donnie sighed, knowing that Mikey meant well. He just had a tendency to be a little...overenthusiastic. And loud. "Take out your biology homework. I'll help you with it now," Donnie said quietly.

Mikey nodded and went to rummage through his backpack, finally extracting a creased pile of what Don could only assume was work. Michelangelo plopped down at Leo's desk - his own being much too cluttered to actually do any work - and handed Donatello the papers. Donnie carefully moved his arms from around the snoozing Leonardo and shuffled through the pile. Donnie raised an eyebrow, "You _are _aware that this is the school lunch menu, this is your English paper, and this is a picture you drew of what looks like a buffalo riding a flying fish through space?"

Mikey waved his hand dismissively, "The biology assignment is in there, too."

"Pretty good depiction of the buffalo," Don commented absently as he continued to sort through Mikey's things. He looked up at Michelangelo in exasperation. "Your homework is to draw a picture of a eukaryotic cell. Why did you say you needed my help? You're a much better artist than I am."

"Uh," Mikey stuttered, casting his eyes about as if a feasible explanation would suddenly appear in front of him.

"Go on, get started," Donnie laughed. "I'll explain the role of the organelles while you draw. I need to brush up before my molecular biology course anyways."

"You're the best, Donnie!"

"I know," Don said matter of factly. "And so humble, too."

Mikey grinned into his sheet of paper, knowing that his brother wasn't serious.

An hour later, Mikey's eukaryotic cell was a piece of art and Leo had started stirring. Leo woke fully with a start as another coughing fit seized him. Donnie helped him sit up further so he could breathe easier and Mikey moved in to hold his hand tightly.

"Fine," Leo gasped, "I'm fine. Skeptical looks all around.

Donnie's hand moved to Leonardo's forehead again. "Well, your temperature's gone down. Feeling better?"

Leo nodded, "A bit." He looked sheepishly at his younger brother, "So how am I doing, Doc? Am I allowed off bed rest?"

"Why?" Donnie questioned curiously. "Do you have somewhere to be?"

"No, but, uh...I really need to pee!" Leo blurted out, blushing.

"Oh! Of course! Are you okay getting there on your own?"

The eldest Hamato stood up slowly. "I think so. I'll leave the door unlocked," he promised. "Better scrounge up something for lunch," he called over his shoulder. "Mikey's looking hungry."

Donnie looked over at Mikey, who put on his best Oliver Twist face. "Gruel it is," Donnie said happily as he made his way into the kitchen.

"What?" Mikey scrambled after his brother. "Even you can do better than _gruel_!"

Donatello just laughed good naturedly as he continued walking, but Mikey stopped to listen outside the bathroom for a moment. He heard some deep coughs coming from inside and hurried back into the bedroom to grab the yellow inhaler from Leo's desk.

"Leo?" he called through the door. "Are you decent? I'm coming in."

Mikey opened the door, wishing at once that he hadn't. "Geez Leo, what did you _do _in here?"

Unfortunately, Leo didn't have the breath to reply. He was tightly gripping the sides of the sink, coughs wracking his frame. Mikey hurried to his side, rubbing Leo's back and offering silent moral support. Once the coughing subsided he pushed the inhaler into Leo's hand, the elder using it immediately. Michelangelo wrapped his arm around his brother's waist and tried to support him as they made their way to the couch. Leonardo, being almost a foot taller than his baby brother, simply tried not to crush Mikey with his weight.

Raphael and Donatello were busy making sandwiches, but when their brothers appeared in the doorway, Raph abandoned the food and threw Leo's arm around his shoulders, taking the weight from Mikey and helping his unwell sibling to the couch. "Okay there, bro?" he asked gruffly, settling Leo down.

"Thanks, Raph," Leo mumbled, shooting the twin a grateful smile. "I almost flattened Mikey on the way over."

"Did not," Mikey protested. "I could do it!" His three brothers laughed congenially. Mikey pulled a face, but settled for burrowing into Leo's side. "I hope you feel better soon, Leo," Michelangelo said softly into his brother.

Leonardo's arm snaked automatically around his baby brother, drawing him as close as possible without smothering the boy. "Don't worry, Mikey. Donnie'll fix me up in no time. Plus, I've got you and Raph taking care of me, too."

"Here," Raph said, handing Leo a sandwich before tucking a blanket around both him and Mikey. At Leo's quizzical look, he simply explained, "You looked a little cold." Raphael gave Leo's shoulder a comforting squeeze and went to eat lunch with his twin at the counter. Leo couldn't help but smile at the sharp attention Raphael paid his brothers; he had been feeling a bit chilled, but didn't think anyone would notice

"Mikey, come eat your sandwich," Donnie called from where he was pouring juice into cups.

"Can I eat here with Leo?" Mikey pleaded, an angelic look settling over his features. None of his brothers bought it for a moment.

"I'm not your servant," Donatello retorted. "Besides, you'll get crumbs all over."

"I made you breakfast," Mikey pouted. Leonardo hid a smirk with a cough, knowing that Mikey was well aware appealing to Donnie's sense of fairness, somewhat ironically, usually ended with him getting his way.

Raphael swallowed his mouthful, "He's got a point, bro."

_Check and mate_, Michelangelo thought happily, though he maintained his innocent, pleading look a while longer lest Don catch on.

"Fine, fine," Donnie relented, walking over to hand Mikey his lunch.

The brothers on the couch ate in relative silence (a rare occurrence for Michelangelo) while the twins chatted about driving various moving vehicles, including hovercrafts and tanks. Soon after lunch, both Leo and Mikey were yawning, Leo from the exhaustion the bronchitis was causing and Mikey because he was coming down off his sugar high, finally.

Donnie laughed quietly as he and Raph went to collect the dishes from the couch. "Familiar sight?" he mentioned, nodding Leo and Mikey, the latter nestled half into the elder's side, half on his lap.

An emotion Donatello couldn't quite place flashed briefly across Raphael's eyes. "A little too familiar," he admitted, fussing with the blanket and making sure both brothers were warm enough.

Donnie nodded in agreement. "A bit yeah." He moved to check Leo's temperature. "But it's nothing we haven't seen before. And Leo's fever has already broken, so I think it's going to be a quick round this time."

Raph ran a hand more gently than he would ever admit through Leo's dark hair, evoking a contented sigh with only a slight wheeze from his big brother. "Good." He turned to his twin. "Wanna spar after we wash the dishes?"

"No."

"No?"

"Let's spar now. Loser _does _the dishes," Donnie grinned, pushing a lock of hair out of his eyes.

"You're on!" Raphael said eagerly. And with pride - and dishes - on the line, the twins made their way to the gym, elbowing each other cheerfully, simultaneously giving and drawing comfort and strength from their brothers.


End file.
